2020 Sooke Reports

[RogersonCrusoe]

Got out last night from 6-8 to try my luck inside Becher Bay. Lots of bait and some arches surrounding the bait balls, but obviously not interested in my offerings.

The tide started to push more and more kelp into the Bay which made fishing a bit stressful, especially when I watched a 6ft diameter kelp island go straight into the downrigger wire and line. PANIC set in and a small clusterF later all gear was retrieved.

One small chinook to the boat, on bait. Released without measuring.
Stoked for August 1!

 

[Admin]

As I won't be around for the long weekend and haven't really tried for Chinook this year, we took advantage of this spectacular weather day and hit the Trap Shack about 7:15. Got 4 in total and a couple Coho that were not clipped. Biggest one would have been slightly over 80 cm but the other 3 would have fit the slot with the smallest around 8 lbs and the largest in the keeper range in the 12 lb range. White hootchie at 77 and Herring Aid Skinny G at 67 did the trick. Spent the last 1.5 hours inside the retention area in Beecher and as @RogersonCrusoe mentioned above, saw lots of bait and a few decent marks on the sounder but couldn't entice a bite. Beautiful day out there!





Frazier Island



Frazier Island looking toward Beechy Head

 

[Yong Luo]

Game on Happy salmon fishing

 

[profisher]

A couple of wild springs today out of 3 we had to the boat...all legal. The two we kept 80 and 70cm. Also kept a hatch coho and a pink. 30-50 ft all on anchovy. Looked quite a bit like an August long weekend with a decent crowd at Otter. Didn't see much going on early...full moon blues.

 

[silver spring]

I was out with Rockfish today to try our luck since it was opening Chinook fishing day in Sooke. We endured a rather windy and bumpy day. Action was rather slow, catching and releasing 4 small chinook. We decided to drop the lines deep for a tack near Secretary and work our way back in to the reefs. We started at 130ft and brought the rigger up to 90. And after a couple of minutes, as we were heading in shallower, I brought the rigger from 90ft to 70ft when we triggered a strike. It was a nice battle with multiple runs and a fun fish to play but alas it was quite a bit over the slot so we released it beside the boat.

 

[Xena]

Out of Jock's had to wait for enough water, launched at 11:15am, lines in 11:45, Hubby got a hit five minutes in and we boated a beauty. 75 cm, 15.5 lbs. Got tossed around for just under an hour and called it, warm though! Happy to be fishing for a chinook!!

 

[23Hourston]

Pretty slow for us today at the trap 7ish till 10. Dead zone nice water tho compared to surrounding areas. Didn’t see anything worth reporting. Odd 4ish pound coho netted. Wind came up as expected according to the apps.

 

[Corners]

Please clearify regulations as at Aug. 1 . When I read them on the fisheries and oceans site 2 chinook can be kept in area 20. No reference to slot or hatchery ?

 

[kayladog]

Took a while but managed getting our under 80cm springs. First 5 hours off beachy head and trap shack produced numerous shakers and hits that didnt stick. Noon back in beecher bay with the flood pushing hard we got one around 12 lb and an hour later one around 11lb.

 

[tubber]

Please clearify regulations as at Aug. 1 . When I read them on the fisheries and oceans site 2 chinook can be kept in area 20. No reference to slot or hatchery ?

https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/tidal-maree/co-chq/20-chq-eng.pdf

 

[Paul Laframboise]

I was out with Rockfish today to try our luck since it was opening Chinook fishing day in Sooke. We endured a rather windy and bumpy day. Action was rather slow, catching and releasing 4 small chinook. We decided to drop the lines deep for a tack near Secretary and work our way back in to the reefs. We started at 130ft and brought the rigger up to 90. And after a couple of minutes, as we were heading in shallower, I brought the rigger from 90ft to 70ft when we triggered a strike. It was a nice battle with multiple runs and a fun fish to play but alas it was quite a bit over the slot so we released it beside the boat. View attachment 55412

nice fish and nice job!!!

 

[Corners]

https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/tidal-maree/co-chq/20-chq-eng.pdf

Thanks Tubber I see where it refers to 20-5

 

[fish brain]

Well we scratched up a couple of nice Coho today fishing from Alderidge to the Trap Shack. There were lots more boats out than the last few times I went, but nowhere near what should have been out there. We caught several more small Chinook and wild or small Coho, but couldn't find a keeper Chinook for the table. Green and white Coho Killer did the bulk of the work from 90 to 60 feet

 

[wolf]

Opening day managed 2 a 12 and 13 lber next day a 15 and a 10 lb hatch coho day one saw lots of boats yesterday not so much had to let 4 go over 2 days that broke my heart .... weird how 20 miles away up coast you can have at er I guess those fish on concern must not swim up there?? oh well life goes on still awesome to fish here
Last year at this time we were placing a winning fish in the sooke salmon derby how times have changed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SpringVelocity]

"weird how 20 miles away up coast you can have at er I guess those fish on concern must not swim up there??"

Why would anyone in Sooke especially a guide want Renfrew to be under same restrictions? This slot limit is purely political and does nothing for stocks of concern if the government doesn't address the river in which they come from.

We need to have options for other fisheries. Lots of guys that fish Sooke fish Renfrew also, and take trips to other areas on WCVI including myself. Not a fan of blanket restrictions.

You should see up island inside August. Vast areas closed for Cowichan restrictions on a stock that has limited concern now. Not very places to fish from!

Anyway sorry 2 derail. My neighbor was there recently and got a few off the head on opening in teens. Hope to get out there soon.

 

[fish brain]

"weird how 20 miles away up coast you can have at er I guess those fish on concern must not swim up there??"

Why would anyone in Sooke especially a guide want Renfrew to be under same restrictions? This slot limit is purely political and does nothing for stocks of concern if the government doesn't address the river in which they come from.

We need to have options for other fisheries. Lots of guys that fish Sooke fish Renfrew also, and take trips to other areas on WCVI including myself. Not a fan of blanket restrictions.

You should see up island inside August. Vast areas closed for Cowichan restrictions on a stock that has limited concern now. Not very places to fish from!

Anyway sorry 2 derail. My neighbor was there recently and got a few off the head on opening in teens. Hope to get out there soon.

I dont think he was asking to put Renfrew under the same restrictions, but merely pointing out the stupidity of DFO's logic.
Back to reports

 

[RogersonCrusoe]

Took a loop around Becher Bay today from 10-2.
IMMEDIATELY knocked the lid of the downrigger into the drink. while I was cleaning the moisture off the counter. D'oh! Oh well, it still works.
Started out by Frazier Isl with a ton of bait showing and pouring rain (as wolf mentioned) and alot of decent marks, but nothing doing. So we ventured up past Aldridge and got one nice Hatch Coho.

The fleet was dispersing around Beechy, so we trolled past them and out to 450 ft to look for more coho - nothing doing either - and looped back towards home on the roaring flood. Finished off the day with a double header! (of floating kelp ).

3" White GSB and Purple Onion Flasher got the only touch - 125 feet in 350ft of water.

 

[Englishman]

Well we left the first two open for chinook days for everyone else and only set out today for our first attempt at a chinook. What a day weather wise! Never seen an August day like it. At our 6:30am start at the Trap it was very dark grey and overcast. Then a heavy drizzle began and kept it up for quite a while though visibility was still quite good. The grey drizzly weather reminded me of public holidays in the Olde Countrie, when we always used to get weather like that! LOL

Then the rain stopped and a strange eerie mist seemed to cover the ocean at surface level making Secretary half disappear and leaving ghostly outlines of boats. At 11:00 am or so the sun began to appear and at the same time a huge fog bank formed and we could see it covered Secretary and Possession but we remained in the sun at the Trap. In all this time we had only had one very undersized chinook and three rockfish! That is always a problem at the Trap as any bait within 10-20 feet of the bottom is hit be those pesky rockfish.

Finally gave up on the Trap where we only saw one fish caught and headed down with the flood to Beechey as did lot of other boats it seemed. Tide got stronger and stronger down there and lots of floating weed, both kelp and those long sea grass fronds that snag everything, made things tough.

After lunch pulled all the gear and rode back to Possession, now partially clear of fog and with most of the morning boats long gone. First pass at 2:00pm got a strange tap-tap hit at 66' on small herring in t.h. which I though was a little guy but struck anyway since we were in one of our favoured hotspots. He came up with the rigger for a few feet and then popped the clip but still came up like yet another dead weight rockfish. Way back of the boat I saw a swirl and suddenly it woke up and went off in a couple of very nice runs and we eventually boated a very nice 73cm, 13lb chinook. Tried a couple more passes of Possession but the fish gods only smiled that one time in the whole 8 hour marathon session. But at least we were not skunked!! LOL

 

[cby]

Beauty day, minus the 2 hours of rain. Managed a beautiful 78cm, 14.5 lber, lost a whooper, broke the main line although I think it was the guy that drove over our fish after attempts to wave him off. Just keep going. Grrr. Anyway parking lot out there all morning. Not much happening at all. For the amount of boats and time of year. Got a pink to end the day.

Very slow so far. But should turn on soon. Bait everywhere.

Both fish caught in the corridor, closer to trap reef.

 

[SpringVelocity]

Well we left the first two open for chinook days for everyone else and only set out today for our first attempt at a chinook. What a day weather wise! Never seen an August day like it. At our 6:30am start at the Trap it was very dark grey and overcast. Then a heavy drizzle began and kept it up for quite a while though visibility was still quite good. The grey drizzly weather reminded me of public holidays in the Olde Countrie, when we always used to get weather like that! LOL

Then the rain stopped and a strange eerie mist seemed to cover the ocean at surface level making Secretary half disappear and leaving ghostly outlines of boats. At 11:00 am or so the sun began to appear and at the same time a huge fog bank formed and we could see it covered Secretary and Possession but we remained in the sun at the Trap. In all this time we had only had one very undersized chinook and three rockfish! That is always a problem at the Trap as any bait within 10-20 feet of the bottom is hit be those pesky rockfish.

Finally gave up on the Trap where we only saw one fish caught and headed down with the flood to Beechey as did lot of other boats it seemed. Tide got stronger and stronger down there and lots of floating weed, both kelp and those long sea grass fronds that snag everything, made things tough.

After lunch pulled all the gear and rode back to Possession, now partially clear of fog and with most of the morning boats long gone. First pass at 2:00pm got a strange tap-tap hit at 66' on small herring in t.h. which I though was a little guy but struck anyway since we were in one of our favoured hotspots. He came up with the rigger for a few feet and then popped the clip but still came up like yet another dead weight rockfish. Way back of the boat I saw a swirl and suddenly it woke up and went off in a couple of very nice runs and we eventually boated a very nice 73cm, 13lb chinook. Tried a couple more passes of Possession but the fish gods only smiled that one time in the whole 8 hour marathon session. But at least we were not skunked!! LOL

Right on Roland...